


Back to the roots

by Yuulina_vre



Series: Little Supersoldiers [34]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Couch Cuddles, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Diapers, Eskimo Kisses, F/M, Fluff, Forehead Kisses, Kid Bucky, Kid Bucky Barnes, Kid Fic, Kid Steve, Kid Steve Rogers, Kisses, M/M, Men Crying, Regrets, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-05-31 03:22:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19417459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuulina_vre/pseuds/Yuulina_vre
Summary: Steve is plagued from regrets





	Back to the roots

“Y/N. Is he okay?” Y/N looks up from the cars she plays with, while Bucky builds a garage for them with his blocks. She follows Clint’s finger, which just left Lady’s fur, until her eyes stop at Steve. He’s sitting on the couch, pretending to listen to whatever Tony says. But Y/N knows better. “He is like that for days now. I saw him staring at the wall yesterday. He didn’t even had noticed that his coffee dropped on his pants and burned his legs.” She frowns at Clint before her eyes go back to Steve. Tony punches his shoulder and snickers about him not listening. After Tony stands up with frustrated gestures in Steve’s direction, she stands up herself. “Y/N! Your husband is in another world. Get him back to earth.”

“You probably talked him away.” Tony gasps and Clint snickers from behind Y/N as Tony leaves the room. She pats Bucky’s head while she crosses his way and sits down directly next to Steve. “You’re okay?”

“Hm.”

“Steve.” She sighs and takes his hand. She leans a bit forward to look into Steve’s eyes and after some trying, he finally looks at her. His usually bright blue eyes are dull and a bit hunted. They shine with regret. “What is it that makes you so… I don’t know. Miserable.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Come on, Steve. I can see that it’s not nothing.”

“I’m fine, Y/N. Just thinking.” He gifts her a small smile and kisses her temple. Then he pats her hand, stands up and leaves the common room. Y/N looks after him for a moment before she looks back at Bucky. Her eyes met with Clint and he mirrors her look of confusion. She looks back at the door for the last time before she sits back down next to Bucky. “Mommy? Where’s daddy going?”

“I don’t know. Maybe back home or to the gym.” She watches as Bucky nods and goes back to playing. She strokes through his hair and shares a small look with Wanda who comes into the room. “Mommy?” Bucky pulls on her sleeve and her gaze snaps back to him. “Yes?”

“Can we go to the park today? I want to play with daddy.”

“Oh. Eh, no, Bucky. Let’s not get out today, okay? We can go down to the lake and maybe do some skinny-dipping.”

“Okay.” Bucky smiles at her and goes back to playing once again.

A bit later Bucky whines and stomps on the ground. Steve wasn’t anywhere to be found and Bucky doesn’t like it. “Mommy. You said we go to the lake.”

“I know Bucky and we will. But daddy won’t come with us and I go up a bit earlier. Your uncles will come, too.”

“But I want to play with daddy and make this plane.” Bucky stomps to the ground once again. “I know, Bucky.” Y/N sighs down and shares a frustrated look with Tony. The engineer stands behind Bucky, looking unsure at the scene and far away from helping her. “C’mere, sweetie.” Y/N crouches down and holds out a hand for Bucky. He looks at it angrily but slowly takes it and lets Y/N pull him in. “I know you don’t like it that daddy doesn’t come with us. And I know you don’t like it that I go up earlier, but Steve isn’t feeling very well.” Bucky’s angry face tuns into one of shame. “Is daddy sick?”

“Kind of, yes. Stevie has some things on his mind that make him sad and think all the time. He’s not as happy as you know him and I want to go up to him later and see if I can help him.”

“Me too. I want to help too.”

“That’s good.” Y/N smiles and strokes him through his hair before she shakes her head. “But this is not like Mission: Baby brother. You can’t get him something to drink so his throat feels better or get a cold reg for his head. That won’t help with this. The best we both can do is to give him some space when he needs it, okay?”

“But… You said you’re going to help him.”

“I did. But I don’t know if he wants it. No, Bucky, stop. No arguing today. Please.” She kisses his forehead and looks him back in the eyes. “As soon as I think he needs us, I’ll get you. Okay?”

“Fine.” Bucky pouts and walks over to take Tony’s hand before he bombards him with questions about Steve. Lady looks around but then follows the child and the genius. Y/N quickly puts all of Bucky’s toys in her bag and puts it aside so that nobody falls over it. Then she follows the brunette and her little troublemaker down to the lake. Her thoughts run wild in her head while she walks. She almost walks against a tree and only avoids it because Bucky shouts something. Her head snaps up just as Sam throws the little child into the lake. Tony laughs at him, bows over and holds his stomach, but before he can do anything else, Clint and Sam have teamed up against him and shove him into the water. He curses and shouts but neither of the men takes notice of that. Somehow, they managed to talk Bruce and Nat to join them and even Wanda sits on a blanket with a book in hand. The moment she sees Y/N she puts it aside and pats the space beside her. Y/N sits down and watches how Bucky strips out of his clothes and jumps back in to tackle Sam down. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. Steve worries me. He won’t tell me what bugs him.” Wanda hums and looks down at her lap. Y/N eyes her suspiciously before she straightens herself a bit and turns to her. “You know something, right?”

“I do.” Wanda nods at her. “But I can’t tell you. My mind just slipped to his, this morning. It wouldn’t be right to tell you without him knowing or wanting it.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I still would like to know what’s going on in his big, stubborn head.” Wanda lets out a small laugh and returns to reading her book. “Mommy!” Y/N looks back over to the brunette who waves at her. She waves back and sees how Bucky rolls his eyes. “Mommy, come.” He waves at her again and she sighs before she strips down to her bathing suit, she had put on earlier and walks over to him.

* * *

_“Now, son, tell me. How came you by this sword?” asked Sir Ector again. “Arthur brought it to me,” said Sir Kay, dusting himself off. “He lost my other one.” Suddenly a fear gripped Sir Ector’s heart. “Arthur, my boy,” he said quietly, “will you try it for us?”_

_“Certainly, Father,” said Arthur, “but do we have to tell anyone about this? Can’t we just . . .”_

_“Son, please,” said Sir Ector solemnly. “If you can put the sword in that anvil, please do so now.” With a pounding heart, the lad took the sword from Sir Kay’s hand and climbed slowly onto the block of marble. Raising it with both hands over his head, he thrust it downward, through the anvil, burying the point deep within the stone. Effortlessly he pulled it out again, glanced at his stunned father, and shoved the sword into the stone, even deeper this time._

Y/N glances up from the book and to Bucky who lies beside her, his bear tight in his grip. His breathing is steady and slow and Y/N likes to listen to it for the moment. She strokes some strands out of his face before she marks the page she is at and puts the book on his bedside table. Then she covers him with his blanket, kisses his forehead and silently retreats out of his room. She looks a last time at him, just as Lady rushes past her to jump on the boy’s bad. Y/N shakes her head at the dog but lets her be and marches down to her own room. She changes and gets ready and almost slips into her bed as she changes her mind. She knows Steve is in his room. She looked for him for a while after she left the lake and couldn’t find him. FRIDAY told her where he is. She received no answer as she knocked on his door, so she only told him that she’s here if he needs her. But he never came.

Now she walks back down the hall and stops in front of his door. She debates with herself if she should knock or walk just right through. She doesn’t want to anger him or frighten, if he’s not paying attention or asleep. She knows that he had a light sleep the last few nights. The longer she stands there the colder her feet get, even in the summer heat that’s currently outside. Eventually she knocks and waits patiently for Steve to answer her. But he doesn’t. So, she silently turns the knob and opens the door the tiniest bit. “Steve? You’re awake?” She listens once more but still receives no answer. “I’m coming in.” She tells him, just in case he’s awake and steps into the room. She lets the door open, so Bucky knows they’re here if he wakes up and walks over to the bed. Steve is fast asleep, tangled in his blanket, but looking at peace for once. She looks at him for a second and memories his features. He’s on his stomach, right arm under his pillow, his left hanging down from his bed. She rounds his bed and slips in on his right side. As careful as she can, she gets the blanket from under him and from his legs and drapes it over him and herself, before she scoops closer to him. She kisses his cheeks and tangles her lag with his. She knows instantly that he’s awake. He’s not snoring as he uses to and there are no small puffs of air that hit her skin. But she doesn’t point it out. She only whispers a good night to him and pretends that he manages to fool her.

She has the feeling, that she only slept for a few minutes as a whimper wakes her. She rubs her eyes and turns around. She’s met with the struggling face of Steve. His arms around her hips tightens as another whimper leaves his lips. “Hey. It’s okay.” She caresses his cheeks and whispers to him but she struggles further against the blanket between his legs. Sweat builds on his forehead and then he’s suddenly awake. He gasps for air a few times before he stares at Y/N. He mumbles something and tries to climb out of bed. “No. Come back to bed.” She grabs his wrist and tucks slightly but enough so that Steve falls back down to sit on the mattress. “Y/N. No.”

“Y/N, yes. Stevie. Don’t shut me out. Talk to me.” She sits up and tucks on his wrist again and again until he finally lets her pull him in so that his head rests on her chest. She combs her fingers through his blonde hair and waits for him to speak. “I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t have to talk about the dream, Steve. Just talk to me. What can I do? How can I help you?”

“You can’t.”

“Of course, I can.” She flicks him at his ear and giggles as she lures a grumble from him. “You just don’t want to ask.” She waits a moment longer but then massages his neck and makes him groan. “Come on, big boy. How about I make some hot chocolate and you calm down from the dream and then we talk and cuddle, hm?”

“Yeah, okay.” He closes his eyes and gives himself in to the feeling of Y/N’s hand in his hair. Then, some minutes later he lets her go to make the drink and waits for her to come back. They snuggle against each other and sip on the mugs. Y/N goes back to rub at his neck with one hand while she waits for the blonde to talk. Steve sighs and rests his head against the wall with closed eyes as he finally starts to speak. “I got a letter a few days prior. It was form a- a Fan, I guess. A kid. The girl asked how it is to be Captain America and how it was back then. She told me she’s glad that I’m here but she wanted to know if I wouldn’t rather be back in the 40s. And the ask got me to think and I thought of my mother and Bucky from back then. Of Dr. Erskine and Howard. Of the Howling Commandos and of…”

“Peggy.” Steve nods and a single tear slips down his face. “I have so many regrets, Y/N. There’s so much I could have changed. So many things I could have had but missed the opportunity for.”

“Steve.”

“No, don’t. Let me talk. Please.” She nods at him and wipes the tears from his face as he leans in to rest his head on her shoulder. “I wished I would have gone to school like my mother wanted me to. I wish I were just the tiniest bit faster so that I could have saved Erskine. I wish I told Peggy how I felt when I had the chance. I wish I hadn’t crashed the jet. I wish that…” He goes silent as a new wave of tears hits him. “You know.” Y/N strokes his cheek. “I’m really glad you made the decisions you made. Because if you hadn’t, then I would have never met you. Bucky could have been dead long ago now.”

“But many people would live. Pietro would live.”

“No. Pietro could still be dead. As could so much more people. Because there wouldn’t have been the heroes that saved them. New York would be destroyed by the Chitauri. The world could be ruled by Nazis. Just because you did what you did all these things never happened.”

“And all the things I wanted back then never happened.”

“Yeah.” Her voice is silent and gentle. She can’t imagine what he feels right now. She only knows that he is sad. They lie there for a long time. Neither of them says something and neither of them moves. Y/N just continuous to comb through Steve’s hair while he tries to relax and goes back to his thoughts.

Y/N glances at the alarm clock at Steve’s bedside. It’s just a little after six. “Stevie. Come with me.”

“Hm?”

“Come.” She slips out from under him and tucks on his hand until she stands up reluctantly. She pulls him after, through the hall and just stops at the kids’ room. She peeks inside and sees a fully frown man in a too small bed. She giggles and lets Steve peek inside. A small smile curls on his lips. Not as big as she’s used to but good enough. She pulls him further after her, through the halls until they reach the common room. She lets go of his hand and lets him stand on the spot while she walks over to a shelf and gets out one of the vinyl’s Tony has stored there. She takes it over to one a record player on puts it on it. She sets the needle on and waits for the first few notes to play before she sets the needle back to the start and walks over to Steve. “What are you doing?” Steve looks at her dumbfounded as she takes his hands and places them on her hips. Then she plays her own on his shoulders and looks up at him. “I’m making it a bit better.” She smiles at him and starts to sway as the first few notes start to play again. She knows instantly that Steve recognizes the song, even before Frank Sinatra starts to sing. But the moment his voice pipes up, Y/N starts to sing along.

And now the end is near

And so I face the final curtain

My friend, I'll say it clear

I'll state my case of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full

I've travelled each and every highway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way

Regrets I've had a few

But then again too few to mention

I did what I had to do

I saw it through without exemption

“Y/N. That’s-” Y/N interrupts Steve with a head shake and just sings along. Her gaze never leaves Steve and she thinks that he now knows what she’s trying to say with the song. He made the right choices. Even if he lost many things. She sees as one after another of the others comes in and shares them a curious glance but neither of them says something. Not even as Bucky and Lady enter or as Steve starts to silently cry.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried

I've had my fill, my share of losing

And now, as tears subside

I find it all so amusing

To think I did all that

And may I say, not in a shy way

Oh no, oh no not me

I did it my way

She lets the last strophe out and lets Frank sing it alone while she caresses his cheek with one hand and wipes his tears away. One of Steve’s hands lets go of her hip and takes her hand in his as he kisses her palm, the other hand pulls her in a bit closer. Steve leans in and connects their foreheads with a watery sigh. “Doll, can I-”

“Of course, you can, Steve. Don’t ask me. Just do it. We’re all here, waiting for you.” She kisses the corner of his mouth and watches as Steve slowly let’s go of her and retreats back into the hall. Bucky takes Steve’s place and takes Y/N in his arms. “What’s that about, doll?”

“Just showing Steve that he made the right choices. Even if he sacrificed some of his dreams for that.” Bucky hums and dances along with her as the next song starts. The others are still around, drinking coffee, talking quietly or just watching the two of them.

A loud alarm interrupts the silent morning and everybody looks around in confusion. “What’s that noise?”

“An attack”

“Is that the fire alarm?”

“Tony? What’s that noise?” Y/N looks at him while the billionaire shakes his head. “FRIDAY?”

“It’s the alarm you set up for Captain Rogers if he has an asthma attack, Boss.” There’s a frightened second where nobody says something. Y/N locks her eyes with Bucky and then she runs out of the room. “FRIDAY, where is he?”

“Second bathroom on the floor below.” Y/N runs as fast as she can, almost slips on the ground and falls on her face but manages to catch herself with her hand. She bends it at an awkward angle and it hurts but she ignores the throb in her wrist and sprints further down the hall until she’s directly in front of the bathroom door. “Stevie?” She knocks and tries the knob. Thankfully Steve hasn’t locked the door. She opens it and is met with a red-faced, crying Steve. “Mo-my.” He wheezes and stretches out his arms for her to take him. But Y/N only takes his hands and holds them over his head while she crouches down in front of him. “I’m here, Stevie. Take deep breathes for me. Nice and slow. Just like that. And once more.” She talks quietly to him, with a soft voice and praises him for his good job. Y/N hates it to deal with Steve’s asthma without and inhaler in reach. It takes much longer to calm him and get his breathing steady. “There you go. Take it easy, sweetie.” She hugs his small frame to her chest while she frees him from the pants and socks. She even strips the shirt over his head which honestly does a poor job of covering his thin frame. She leaves the abandoned clothes on the floor and picks the naked boy up to carry him back to the common room. Steve clings to her the whole way. He doesn’t say a word. Instead, he sucks on his thumb and now and then lets out a whimper which Y/N quickly silences with some rubs over his bare back. The moment she enters the common room she shares a quick look with Bucky, before the man stands up from his spot. He walks past them, not without ruffling Steve’s hair, and leaves the room. Y/N just walks up and down in the room, followed by the watchful eyes of Tony, Nat, Clint and the others. It doesn’t take long before Sam clears his throat and looks Y/N directly in the eyes. “Y/N, he’s…” He points at Steve and she nods. “I know.”

“I mean he’s peei-”

“I know, Sam.” She motions with her eyes to her shirt that’s now clearly wet around her hips where she holds Steve. “Yeah, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Could you do me a favor? Could you take Lady out for her walk? I think we have the hands full now. At least for the next few hours.”

“Yeah, no problem. Where is she?”

“She was sleeping when we left. Just ask FRIDAY to open the door.” Sam nods and leaves the room right as Bucky steps back in with Lady behind him. They talk for a second before Sam takes Lady by her collar and pulls her back out of the room. Bucky walks over to Y/N and eyes her for a second. He stops clearly at her wet shirt and looks at her quizzically. “It’s okay. I change later. Let’s get him dressed first, please.”

* * *

Bucky thought that, Steve peeing himself and Y/N in the progress, was just a one-time thing. Now he isn’t as sure anymore. He changes him for the third time now and it’s a bit frustration. He knows very well that Steve is capable of using the toilet but he just refuses. All Bucky can do is not to snap at him for peeing himself. He is aware of the mood Steve is in. “Daddy?” Steve speaks up with a silent voice as Bucky takes out new pants from his dresser. “Yeah?”

“Diaper?”

“What’s with the diaper?” He looks at Steve. The boy looks at his feet, seemingly ashamed of himself. “I want a diaper.” Bucky turns around and opens his mouth to respond but no words leave his lips until he catches himself and crouches down in front of Steve, his pants in his hands. “You want to wear the diapers again?” Steve just nods and plucks his pacifier in his mouth which he insists on, and sucks on the whole day since Y/N gave it to him, and hugs his sheep a bit closer. Bucky looks at him for a moment and studies him but he comes to the conclusion that it’s probably a good idea. And now that Steve asked for it, he knows that the boy somehow took a few steps back in his envelopment. But it’s alright. Y/N said she doesn’t mind. “Alright. Take my hand and we get you changed.” Steve takes it gladly and Bucky leads him into the bathroom, gets him on the changing table that stood abandon in the room for the last few weeks and makes quick work of cleaning and changing the little boy.

The moment Bucky steps into the common room with Steve on his hand the boy is very silent. He actually hides a little behind Bucky’s legs and avoids eye contact with everybody else. Y/N watches him closely, exchanges a look with Bucky but says nothing else. “Hey, champ. What's up with Y/N?” Bucky looks down at the kid but Steve just presses his face into Bucky’s thigh. Bucky looks at him and strokes through his hair. Tony comes up to them and crouches down. “Hey, Steve. Do you want a lollipop?” The scientist holds out a lollipop in the wrapping paper of the hulk. Steve peeks out from behind Bucky’s leg but immediately returns to hiding and shakes his head. “You sure?” No one expects Steve to start crying so they all are startled for a moment. Y/N slips on the edge of her seat to stand up, Tony stands back up and takes a step back, Nat and Clint share a confused look. Wanda looks up from her sketchbook and looks at Steve with concern in her eyes. Y/N looks to her briefly but Wanda shakes her head. She had read his mind. Her head shake means she doesn’t know what’s up, only that he’s not feeling better. Bucky twists around and picks Steve up and into his arms. The blonde hides in his shoulder and just sobs. A bit unsure of what’s going on, he stretches his arm out and takes the lollipop from Tony. “I give it to him. Thank you, Tony.” The man only nods and makes a quick exit to his favorite armchair, sipping on his coffee with a disappointed look on his face.

Bucky walks over to Y/N and sits down beside her. Lady’s head shoots up from where she’s lying. She takes one quick look before she comes over. The Labrador places her front paws on Bucky’s knees. She sniffs on Steve’s back and nudges him carefully with her snout. She does it again and a last time until Steve finally turns the tiniest bit and lets her lick his cheek. One after the other the rest of the team starts to pick up their conversations or the things they had done before. Again, it takes a while until Steve calmed down but Bucky manages to get the boy from his lap and sandwiched between himself and Y/N. Lady has made it her job to occupy Bucky’s lap and to place her head on Steve’s lap. The boy rubs her head, especially her ears which he really likes. They’re soft and warm and if he tickles her, they twitch in a funny way. Bucky waits a second longer before he silently passes the lollipop to Steve. This time he actually takes it. He tries to open it but doesn’t manages, so he looks at Y/N with big round eyes. “Give me. I open it.” She takes it with a smile and opens it but doesn’t let it taken from her to lick it once and kiss Steve’s nose as he pouts at her before she gives it back. “You need to thank Tony later okay?” Steve’s eyes widen and fill with tears once again. He shakes his head and his hand grips Lady’s fur a bit harder than normal. The dog whines and throws a murderous look in Bucky’s way. “Hey, hey. I said later okay. I’ll go with you okay?”

“No.” Steve’s voice is small and the first tear spills from his eyes. “Sweetie.” Y/N kisses his head and pulls him a bit more into her side. “When we get something, then we need to thank the people for it. Only bad people don’t do that. And I know that you’re a very, very good boy. Right?” The smallest nod that Y/N has ever seen comes from Steve. “Then I know that you will go over sometime today. Take your time, okay?”

She receives a shaky nod from Steve. She looks at Bucky who has watched her exchange with Steve. He drapes an arm over the backrest and rests his hand on her shoulder, lightly squeezing it. “What are we gonna do?” Y/N takes in a deep breath. “What can we do?” The brunette nods at her question. What can they do? There’s not much that can be done. It’s something Steve has to fight over with himself. They only can show him that they love him and that they are grateful for him. But they can’t take his regrets or choices from him. He changes the subject and talks with Y/N about his wish to go to the amusement park which she always turns down. Sometime into their conversation Steve slips out from beside them. They both eye him, unbeknownst to him. Their eyes follow him all the way to Tony who still sits sulking on his armchair.

Steve stands in front of him and pokes against his knee, his gaze down to Tony’s shoes. He still has the, now empty, lollipop straw in his hand. Tony looks up from his tablet and straightens a bit. “What’s up, kid?” Steve mumbles something. Y/N watches as Tony frowns and leans down a bit. “Sorry, what?”

“Thank you.” It’s very silent and to be honest Y/N isn’t even sure if he really said that. Steve quickly passes the lollipop straw to Tony and runs back to climb on her lap and hide in her chest. Tony stares at the little thing in his hand but smiles. “You’re welcome.” Y/N meets his eyes and smiles at him before she looks down at Steve. “That was good. I’m proud of you.” She whispers into his ear and rubs his back. Bucky uses the free space to slide over to Y/N. He places a small kiss to Steve’s temple and whispers a little ‘best boy living’ into his ear.

It’s already past noon when Y/N looks up from her book. Bucky lies across the couch with his head in her lap and is fast asleep. She has one hand in his hair and massages his head, which probably sent him to sleep really fast. She looks around and spots Steve on the ground by the window. Lady lies beside him. Steve is half lying on her with his head in her fur. Y/N looks around. Wanda is still drawing; Tony had left and Clint was gone, too. Sam and Nat are watching something on the TV which looks really close to the star trek series. Bruce is sitting across from her, his glasses slipped down from his nose while his head lies on the backrest. His mouth is opened wide and a book lies abandoned in his lap as he sleeps. “Mommy.” Steve pokes against her knee. She smiles and looks down but her smile vanishes in the time of a blink. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” She puts her book aside and lifts Steve on the couch to cuddle against her side, careful of the sleeping man on her lap. Fat tears roll down Steve’s cheeks. The dog has follows Steve and now sits at her feet whining and sniffing on Steve’s leg. “Hey, why are you crying?” She rubs over his legs and his back while Steve clings to her. “Shh.” She nuzzles into his neck and places a small kiss on his shoulder. The unpleasant smell of a used diaper comes to her nose and she cringes. Bucky had told her he wanted one. So, she replaces her legs with a pillow under Bucky’s head and slips from the couch. She adjusts Steve in her arms, so that she can hold him safely and goes down to their apartment. Lady is not leaving their side. She whines and nudges Steve’s foot, clearly confused to what’s making him so sad.

Inside, Y/N sets Steve on the changing table and works as fast as she can on cleaning him up and getting a new diaper on him. Lady watches everything from her spot on the floor. Steve is still crying, his face already the color of a tomato and it only needs seconds before he throws himself in an asthma attack. “Stevie, breath.” Lady jumps up and runs out of the room only to come back with a soggy inhaler between her teeth. She places it on the ground and lets out a small bark before she sits and waits for Y/N to pick it up. “Good girl.” She cleans it quickly in the sink before she gives Steve a puff of it. “Breathe, Steve.” She rubs his back and watches him. “You’re okay. Just take a deep breath. Just like that.” She breathes with him and he slowly gets it under control. He pulls on her arms and her shirt until he’s safely in her arms again. Y/N considers getting him back into his pants but by the way he clings at her she wouldn’t get him off of her so she leaves the pant on the chaining table and gets back to the common room. Bucky is still deeply in the dreamland, as is Bruce. Sam and Nat had left but Wanda sits still drawing on her spot. “Look, Stevie. Daddy is a sleepyhead.” She points at the brunette but Steve shares him only a little gaze and sniffles further into her shoulder. Y/N sighs and sits down with Steve. Lady jumps op on the couch and whines. She nudges Steve with her head a few times until she wriggles her head under his arm to get into the hug, too.

Y/N catches Steve gazing over to Wanda a few times. “Do you want to go over to aunt Wanda?” Steve’s eyes dart to her. He has his pacifier back in his mouth, wherever he found that, and Cloudy in his arms. “You can go over, you know.” Steve looks back at Wanda and to Y/N again. She smiles kindly at him and gives him an Eskimo kiss to the nose. She helps Steve back down from her lap, accidentally hitting Bucky with her elbow. He startles awake with a grunt but Y/N ignores him. She watches Steve slowly walking over to Wanda and climb on the seat beside her. The young women looks at him with a kind smile and talk to him. Stevie nods and promptly sits on her lap with a pencil in his hand. Wanda turns to a new page on her sketchbook and guides Steve’s hand over the page. “Y/N? Whassup?”

“Hey sleepyhead. Finally awake?”

“Where’s everyone.” Bucky yawns and sits up, carefully shoving lady away as she tries to lick his face. “Minding their own business, I guess.” Bucky grunts and leans against her shoulder. “Are you still tired?” He hums and closes his eyes. “How’s he doing?”

“Not really better.” Bucky opens his eyes again and peeks over to Wanda. “But he works on getting better.” Y/N smiles and drives her hand through his hair.

* * *

It takes longer for Steve to get back to his usual self as everybody expected. Over the next few days he cries a lot and no one really knows why. Steve himself is too small to really explain what he feels. Each time Wanda slips into his mind she says he’s just sad. He can’t pinpoint exactly way though.

Four days later he’s almost himself again, if a bit clingier than usual. But neither Buck nor Y/N really care. They don’t even care that Steve won’t use the toilet and pees himself each time they try to get him back to use it. They just roll with it and let Steve use the diapers.

Y/N even admits that he missed it.

Steve’s behavior isn’t really different when he drops back. He acts almost normal but searches for contact with Y/N and Bucky more than not. No one really minds. Especially not since Steve seems to be a lot happier with that.


End file.
